Complements "The Hits" Extremely Well
philphila | Philadelphia, PA United States | 03/14/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Disco, soul, jazz, house, reggae, gospel -- who else but Jocelyn Brown could handle each genre with such aplomb? "Moment Of My Life" is essentially an overview of Brown's Prelude/Salsoul recordings and, hence, a survey of disco between the years of its "death" (1979) and its "rebirth" (circa 1983). There are a few recent tracks included, like "I Believe" with Jamestown and "Can't Stop The Rhythm" with Masters At Work. My advice is to first buy Jocelyn Brown's "The Hits" CD, as it contains her biggest, most recognizable singles (e.g., "Somebody Else's Guy," "Love's Gonna Get You," the incredible "Always There" and the two late-1990s duets with Martha Wash, "Keep On Jumpin'" and "Something Goin' On"). So prolific is this vocalist that only one song ("Somebody Else's Guy") appears in the same form on both CDs. So, once you're hooked on "The Hits," pick up "Moment Of My Life" and gain a deeper appreciation for the amazing Jocelyn Brown."
"You are the one - don't you know you are the only one"
Søren Jensen | Copenhagen, Denmark | 09/16/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Various dance divas come along now & then only to disappear again, but no-one has ever been so enduring, nor has ever had a voice in the same league as Jocelyn Brown! She's simply amazing! After an essential 1998 compilation "The Hits", this Japanese "Anthology" is another nothing but excellent compilation, consisting mostly of her early 80s garage stuff which still sounds surprisingly fresh & funky, and oooh ... those power vocals on the Inner Life tracks "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Moment Of My Life" and a true gem: Jocelyn's self-penned ballad "It's Wonderful". Also, Jocelyn's guest appearances for the label colleagues Salsoul Orchestra ("Take Some Time Out For Love") and Joe Bataani ("Sadie She Smokes") are awesome. In 1980, Jocelyn also made French disco king Cerrone's seventh album his very best by contributing lead vocals on each track, and the two very best are also included here "Hooked On You" & "You Are The One", both of which are very much unjustly overlooked. Naturally, no Jocelyn compilation would be complete without her anthem "Somebody Else's Guy", but it's nice to get her just as fine follow-up single "I Wish You Would" as well. That Jocelyn sounds every bit as good today as 20 years ago can be proved on her club smash "I Believe" that she did with Jamestown in 1999. The only thing which keeps me from awarding this collection the final star is that it isn't a 2CD set, it would have allowed all the songs to appear in their full-length versions (usually about 7 minutes), and it would have been great to have Jocelyn's classic cuts with Change, "A Lover's Holiday", "It's A Girl's Affair" & "Angel In My Pocket" from 1980 included as well. But all in all, this CD is essential to any dance lover."
Track Listings (17) - Disc #1